Do you want to write a horror story? Do you need some inspiration for a plot?
In this article, we’ve put together 21 original horror story writing prompts for you.
Enjoy and we hope you get some ideas for your scary story!
Haunting
1. A forgotten plaything becomes possessed by an evil entity.
While cleaning out the attic or basement, the protagonist comes across a forgotten plaything, like a doll or teddy bear; the more human, the more frightening. As the story progresses, the plaything comes alive, endangering the lives of characters in the story.
2. After moving into a new place, the children start talking about their new, ghostly friend.
A family move into a new house for a fresh start. Everything seems to be going well until the children in the family start talking about their new friend, who was apparently murdered in that very house 50 years earlier.
3. An old radio talks directly to anyone who comes near it.
The protagonist buys an old radio from a thrift shop and fixes it so it will work. Only, whenever someone turns it on, the radio starts talking to them directly. And what it has to say isn’t what they want to hear….
4. A ghost texting from beyond the grave.
After a close family member dies, the protagonist starts getting text messages from the family member’s phone, claiming to be them. The text messages are warning the protagonist away from some future danger but won’t say exactly what. Is it really the dead family member? And if so, what are they trying to prevent from happening to the protagonist?
5. A family discovers another family haunting their house.
When items start getting moved or misplaced around the house, a family fear there are ghosts living in the house with them. They try to get rid of the ghosts only to discover they are the ghosts haunting a new family living in their house.
6. A group of children discover an antique that tells the future.
A group of children go rummaging through the attic of an abandoned house in the neighborhood. Among most of the old and decrepit items, they discover a large antique reflective item—a mirror or crystal ball—that shows them horrific future events a week in the making. Events which they can’t seem to prevent, no matter how hard they try.
7. A couple discover a new door that wasn’t there when they moved in.
While unpacking boxes to their new home, a couple discover a door in their bedroom that they didn’t notice before. When they open the door, it seems to lead to another dimension entirely.
Monsters and Demons
8. A woman discovers evil beings looming whenever she has sleep paralysis.
After coming down with waking sleep paralysis, a woman discovers it’s caused by evil beings at work in her home. She helplessly watches as they commit horrible crimes in front of her, all of which are erased when she wakes the next day.
9. After a rare solar eclipse, all the dead begin rising from their grave.
A solar eclipse happens with no warning. People in a small town all stop to witness it, marveling at the experience. Slowly, they discover that the cemetery has been emptied and the dead are walking among them again.
10. People start going missing right after a new family comes to town.
A picture-perfect family moves into a small cul-de-sac neighborhood. Soon after they arrive, pets start to go missing, then people. All signs point to the new family, but what are they stealing them for?
11. A spaceship lands on the outskirts of a suburb.
In the fields of a small town, a spaceship lands with no warning. Within hours, the military have arrived, in preparation for whatever comes out. Once it finally opens, what comes out is more horrific than they could have imagined….
12. After receiving multiple organ transplants, a man realizes his new limbs are not his own.
After a terrible accident, a man receives a multi-limb transplant: arm, leg, eye, ear, etc. Not long after, he discovers he’s lost control of those limbs; they are moving and acting on their own, and they’re moving towards murder!
13. A new shop opens that promises to provide what is needed…for the right price.
When a new, mysterious shop opens in the town center, everyone finds it stocks the items they never knew they needed. Rather than use money to buy it, the owner asks for favors instead. As these favors slowly become more dangerous and brutal as the story goes on, the town realize the owner isn’t as human as they thought they were.
14. A new AI product turns rogue.
A new AI product is released into every home. One family begin to realize their AI product is slowly going rogue and trying to harm them. Nobody believes them so escaping becomes next to impossible but if they don’t escape soon, they may never get the chance again.
15. Old ways aren’t always the best ways.
A family uncover that a coven of witches have been influencing the town’s citizens for centuries. When the family try to expose them, the witches begin terrorizing the family. With nowhere to turn, the family must take down the witches, or die trying.
Psychological
16. The protagonist finds a book that seems to be narrating their life: past, present, and future.
The protagonist comes across a rare book in a random way: maybe they found it on the street or felt drawn to bring it home from the library. Upon reading it, they discover it is the book of their life. Can they keep reading until the end?
17. A woman finds herself lost but can’t remember how she got there in the first place.
The story begins with a woman struggling to find her way out of a mysterious, dark environment—a forest or abandoned building. As she fights to escape, she slowly realizes she doesn’t even know how she got there. Her quest changes to discovering both what happened to her and whether she can ever escape.
18. Social media posts show a different life for the protagonist, one they haven’t been living.
Scrolling social media one night, the protagonist sees pictures of themselves out with someone they’ve never met. While they initially think they’ve just found their accidental doppelgänger, a social media search reveals this person seems to think they are the protagonist. Their histories are the exact same, but they’ve led different lives since college. So, who is this person really? Which one is really who they say they are?
19. Old photographs show a different history to the one remembered.
The protagonist inherits old family photobooks from a deceased relative and find pictures of themselves with a sibling they don’t remember having. Threatening messages begin appearing, warning the protagonist to stay away. What happened to the sibling and could it happen to them?
20. When a technological darkness takes over, so do humanity’s darkest fears.
A strong solar flare causes a worldwide technological blackout. Without electricity and technology, the police in a small town have no way of enforcing the laws. Such uncertainty about their future causes the citizens to turn against each other. With no way to truly police each other, what will they become capable of?
21. The protagonist finds themselves inside the head of another person.
Upon waking up one morning, the protagonist realizes they aren’t seeing the world from their own eyes but from behind those of another person. This person doesn’t acknowledge the protagonist in any way and carries on with their murderous plans while the protagonist can do nothing but watch and struggle to find a way to escape.